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THE  PETER  AND  ROSELL  HARVEY 

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30th  CONGRESS,  [SENATE.  ]  REP.   COM., 

1st  Session.  No.  226. 


IN  SENATE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


AUGUST  1,  1848. 

Submitted,  and  ordered  tD  be  printed. 


Mr.  BREESE  made  the  following 

REPORT : 

The.  select  committee,  to  whom  was  referred  the  resolution  of  the 
Senate  to  inquire  into  the  expediency  of  providing  for  the  publi- 
cation of  the  result  of  the  late  exploring  expedition  of  J.  C.  Fre- 
mont to  Calif  or  nia  and  Oregon,  to  be  published  as  a  national  work, 
free  from  copy-right  and  subject  to  the  disposition  of  Congress ;  and 
also  to  inquire  into  the  expediency  of  providing  for  the  continuation 
and  completion  of  the  surveys  and  exploration  of  the  said  J.  C.  Fre- 
mont, with  a  view  to  develop  the  geographical  character  'of  the 
country,  and  the  practicability  of  establishing  railroads  or  other 
communications  between  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  and  the  Pa- 
cific ocean,  the  result  of  said  further  surveys  and  explorations  to 
be  also  published  as  a  national  work,  free  from  copy-right  and 
subject  to  the  disposition  of  Congress,  respectfully  ask  leave  to 
report: 

That  it  is  a  ma(tter  of  great  public  interest,  the  committee  be- 
lieve, for  the  government  and  for  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
to  become  accurately  acquainted  with  the  value  of  the  large  pos- 
sessions now  belonging  to  the  United  States  beyond  the  Rocky 
mountains,  and  also  with  the  means  of  communicating  with  those 
possessions  and  with  the  Pacific  ocean,  on  which  they  border,  by 
railroads  or  other  modes  of  travel  and  conveyance;  and  the  com- 
mittee believe,  from  the  knowledge  they  have  of  the  inclination  of 
Mr.  Fremont's  mind,  his  habits  and  pursuits,  and  his  already  great 
acquaintance  with  the  countries  in  question,  acquired  through  ex- 
traordinary perseverance,  to  be  peculiarly  well  fitted  to  give  to  the 
government  and  to  the  people  the  information  it  is  so  desirable  for 
them  to  possess  in  relation  to  the  value  of  California  and  Oregon^ 
and  the  means  of  communicating  with  them. 

From  the  early  age  of  seventeen,  as  the  committee  are  informed, 
Mr.  Fremont  has  been  almost  constantly  engaged  in  astronomical 
and  geographical  pursuits,  and  nearly  the  whole  time  in  the  open 
field,  and  the  last  six  years  in  the  country  beyond  the  Mississippi 
and  the  Rocky  mountains. "  He  has  made  three  expeditions  to  those 


[  226  ]  2 

remote  and  interesting  regions.  The  results  of  the  two  first  were 
published  by  order  of  Congress,  and  commanded  general  applause 
both  in  this  country  and  in  Europe.  The  celebrated  Baron  Hum- 
boldt,  and  the  president  of  the  Royal  Geological  and  Royal  Geo- 
graphical Societies,  London,  have  spoken  of  them  in  most  favora- 
ble terms,  and  eminent  scientific  men  and  journals  of  our  own 
country  have  yielded  equal  commendation.  [See  appendix  to  this 
Report.]  Ah  assistant  of  the  celebrated  Nicollet,  who  was* a  distin- 
guished member  of  the  French  National  Institute,  he  has  reached  a 
most  commanding  position  as  a  scientific  explorer,  and  achieved  for 
himself  the  designation  of  the  American  Humboldt. 

The  first  question  with  the  committee  was  to  inquire  into  the  ex- 
pediency of  publishing,  as  a  national  work,  free  of  copy-right,  and 
subject  to  the  disposition  of  Congress,  the  results  of  this  last,  or 
third  expedition  of  Mr.  Fremont;  and,  although  favorably  impressed 
with  the  value  of  these  results,  from  the  previous  labors  and  char- 
acter of  the  author,  it  was  deemed  proper  to  inquire  into  the  real 
character  of  the  proposed  publication;  means  for  forming  some 
judgment  on  this  point  being  already  at  hand  in  the  manuscript  map 
of  Oregon  and  California,  (now  in  the  hands  of  the  lithographer, 
and  which  several  of  the  committee  have  examined,)  and  also  in  the 
geographical  memoir  to  illustrate  that  map,  published  by  order 
of  the  Senate,  and  which,  it  is  presumed,  all  have  read.  This  map 
and  memoir,  in  the  judgment  of  the  committee,  not  only  sustain 
the  previous  reputation  of  the  author,  but  enhance  it;  as  might 
well  be  expected  from  a  more  ripened  intellect,  from  a  more  ex- 
perienced explorer,  and  from  a  spirit  ardent  in  the  pursuit  of 
science,  and  excited  by  applause  to  higher  exertions.  This  map 
and  memoir,  though  hastily  prepared,  and  as  a  mere  preliminary  to 
a  full  work,  increase  the  reputation  of  their  author,  and  giv"e  valua- 
ble information  to  the  statesman  and  to  the  farmer,  to  the  astrono- 
mer and  geographer,  to  the  man  of  science  in  the  walks  of  botany 
and  meteorology.  But  they  must  be  regarded  only  as  a  sample  of 
the  results  of  that  expedition,  from  the  view  of  which  the  value  of 
the  whole  may  be  judged.  As  far  as  the  exploration  has  been  car- 
ried, everything  necessary  to  show  climate,  soil,  and  productions, 
has  been  collected.  More  than  one  thousand  specimens  in  botany, 
a  great  number  in  geology  and  mineralogy,  with  drawings  of  birds 
and  animals,  and  remarkable  scenery,  and  a  large  collection  of  the 
skins' of  birds,  with  the  plumage  preserved,  have  been,  as  the  com- 
mittee are  informed,  brought  home,  to  enrich  the  stores  and  add  to 
the  sum  of  human  knowledge.  Thebotanical  specimens,  examined 
by  Dr.  Torrey,  are  deemed  by  him  of  great  value,  and  worthy  of 
the  expense  of  European  engraving,  if  not  done  by  our  own  gov- 
ernment. 

The  committee,  upon  this  view  of  the  results  of  the  last  expedi- 
tion of  Mr.  Fremont,  deem  them  of  great  national  importance, 
giving  just  ideas  of  Oregon  and  California,  .and  such  as  ought  to 
be  published  in  thejnanner  suggested  in  the  resolution  under  con- 
sideration. 

The  continuation    of  the    surveys   and   explorations  by  Mr,  Fre- 


3  [  226  ] 

montj  with  a  view  to  complete  our  knowledge  of  the  great  country 
between  the  Mississippi  and  the  Pacific  ocean,  is  the  remaining  in- 
quiry referred  to  this  committee,  and  of  the  expediency  of  pro- 
viding for  such  continuation,  they  entertain  no  doubt.  It  is,  in 
their  judgment,  but  carrying  out  the  plain  suggestion  of  reason,  and 
the  plan  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  when  he  sent  Lewis  and  Clark  to  the 
Pacific  ocean. 

Reason  tells  a  nation,  as  it  does  an  individual,  that  when  it  has 
acquired  a  new  and  distant  possession,  the  first  thing  to  be  done  is, 
to  learn  its  value,  and  the  means  of  getting  to  it.  The  instruc- 
tions of  Mr.  Jefferson  to  Lewis  and  Clark,  drawn  up  by  his  own 
hand,  embraced  inquiries  under  both  these  heads,  in  relation  to 
Oregon;  they  now  become  still  more  important  in  relation  to  Ore- 
gon and  California  united  and  the  intervening  region  of  the  Rocky 
mountains,  which  lies  as  a  barrier  to  be  crossed,  or  turned,  be- 
tween those  territories  and  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi 

The  committee  think  they  do  not  err  when  they  assume  it  as  an 
indisputable  position,  that  the  public  interest  and  the  wishes  of  the 
people  require  further  examinations  into  the  character  of  the  soil, 
climate,  and  productions;  the  geology,  botany,  and  mineralogy  of 
Oregon  and  California;  and  also,  iLto  the  practicability  of  rail- 
road and  other  communications  between  those  countries  and  the 
valley  of  the  Mississippi,  to  which  the  public  attention  has  been 
lately,  and  is  now,  so  much  excited;  and  they  do  not  hesitate  to 
say,  that  Mr.  Fremont  is  one  of  the  most,  if  not  the  most,  suitable 
person  to  make  these  examinations,  and  a  publication  of  the  re- 
sults, under  the  direction  of  Congress,  and  without  copy-right,  as 
the  most  judicious  and  advantageous  mode  of  publication.  Mr. 
Fremont  has  spent  six  years  of  his  life  in  explorations  to  these  dis- 
tant regions,  and  in  that  time  has  crossed  the  Rocky  mountains, 
as  the  committee  are  informed,  at  seven  different  points;  has  trav- 
ersed the  country  from  the  Mississippi  on  several  different  lines, 
and  has  made  about  twenty  thousand  miles  of  explorations  in  wil- 
derness countries,  and  understands  thoroughly,  there  is  no  doubt, 
the  general  structure  and  configuration  of  the  country,  and  knows 
where  to  go  and  what  to  do  to  complete  his  examinations.  He  has 
shown  himself  to  be  possessed  of  all  the  qualifications  for  such  an 
enterprize,  with  resources  to  supply  wants,  to  conquer  difficulties, 
and  to  command  success;  and  talent  to  execute  his  task  to  the  sat- 
isfaction and  admiration  of  his  own  countrymen,  and  of  the  first 
men  of  Europe. 

The  committee  learn  with  pleasure  that  it  is  Mr.  Fremont's  own 
desire  to  finish  up  the  great  work  in  which  he  was  so  unexpectedly 
interrupted  in  the  course  of  the  last  year.  No  other  person  pro- 
bably could,  for  the  reasons  stated,  do  the  work  so  well,  or  in  so 
short  a  time,  or  at  so  small  an  expense.  No  other  person  could  be 
employed  in  the  work  without  appropriating  to  himself  the  fruits 
of  his  long  and  arduous  labors,  and  building  upon  foundations 
which  he  has  laid,  and  taking  the  credit  of  operations  which  only 
want  the  finishing  hand  of  their  author  to  erect  a  monument  of 
honor  to  himself  and  of  utility  to  his  country.  It  therefore  seems 


[  226  ]  4 

but  an  act  of  justice  to  this  individual  that  he  should  be  continued 
in  a  work  which  he  commenced,  and  has  thus  far  so  successfully 
prosecuted. 

In  his  geographical  memoir,  printed  by  order  of  the  Senate,  Mr. 
Fremont  proposes  to  continue  and  complete  his  explorations  in  Ore- 
gon and  California,  and  to  publish  the  results,  under  the  direction 
of  Congress,  as  a  national  work,  and  without  copy-right.  It  is  the 
mode  in  which  the  results  of  his  previous  expeditions  have  been 
published,  and  with  great  advantage  to  the  public,  as  all  wrill  ac- 
knowledge, his  journals  and  maps  being  immediately  reprinted  and 
multiplied  in  cheap  editions,  as  well  in  Europe  as  in  this  country; 
and  thus  all  his  discoveries,  and  all  the  information  he  acquired, 
passing  at  once  into  the  mass  of  general  knowledge.  It  is  deemed, 
by  the  committee,  the  proper  mode  of  disseminating  useful  infor- 
mation obtained  at  the  expense  of  the  government,  and  which 
should  be  diffused  at  once  without  the  impediment  of  copy-rights, 
and  the  author,  where  deserving  it,  compensated  in  some  other 
form  for  any  extraordinary  service  which  he  has  rendered. 

The  policy  and  expediency  of  ascertaining  the  value  of  our  new 
and  distant  acquisitions  was  early  felt  and  enforced  by  our  govern- 
ment. It  commenced  with  the  acquisition  of  Louisiana.  The  ex- 
pedition of  Lewis  and  Clark  was  the  offspring  of  that  policy.  The 
cotemporaneous  expeditions  of  Major  Freeman,  on  the  Red  river, 
and  of  Lieutenant  Pike  to  the  source  of  the  Mississippi,  were  parts 
of  the  same  policy.  Mr.  Jefferson,  at  the  same  time,  recommended 
annual  appropriations  for  the  purpose  of  continuing  geographical 
researches  in  Louisiana.  In  the  years  1804  and  1806,  during  his 
Presidency,  and  under  the  recommendation  of  that  illustrious  friend 
and  patron  of  science,  reports  were  made  by  committees  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  in  favor  of  the  annual  appropriations  for 
explorations,  but  they  did  not  ripen  into  laws.  At  a  later  date,  and 
but  recently,  provision  has  been  made  for  promoting  geological 
discoveries  on  the  upper  Mississippi  and  Lake  Superior,  with  a  view 
to  understand  the  value  of  the  public  lands  there  situate;  and  the 
sum  of  forty  thousand  dollars  is  inserted  in  the  general  appropria- 
tion bill  of  the  present  session  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  pre- 
sent year  of  that  survey. 

The  committee  do  but  advert  to  the  large  expenditure  for  explo- 
rations upon  the  water  to  distant  islands  of  the  ocean,  gathering  in 
its  progress  rich  spoils  to  add  to  the  treasury  of  science,  and  open- 
ing to  the  knowledge  of  our  country  all  that  is  remarkable  in  the 
animal,  vegetable,  and  mineral  kingdoms  of  countries  whose  re- 
sources our  enterprise  has  mainly  contributed  to  unfold  to  the 
world. 

These  distant  but  interesting  countries  are  not  our  own,  and  are 
not  to  be  settled  and  cultivated  by  our  race,  and  if  it  was  good 
policy  to  traverse  the  deep  to  visit  them,  and  to  publish  the  re- 
sults of  the  hazardous  exploit  as  a  national  work,  the  committee 
cannot  hesitate  to  believe  that  the  policy  of  the  explorations  pro- 
posed to  be  followed  by  their  publication  as  a  national  work,  the 
development  of  the  resources  of  a  country  soon  to  be  filled  by  peo- 

.V?* 


5 


[  226  ] 


pie    of  our   own    lineage,  is    much   more   apparent,  and  commends 
itself  more  strongly  to  the  general  approbation. 

The  committee,  therefore,  feeling  all  the  reasons  in  favor  of  such 
explorations  to  be  greatly  increased  by  the  recent  acquisition  of 
California,  and  the  exclusive  possession  of  Oregon,  and  wh'en  so 
much  has  already  been  done  towards  exploring  them,  deem  it  ex- 
pedient that  further  provision  be,  made  for  exploring  Oregon  and 
California,  and  ascertaining  practicable  routes  for  a  railroad  or 
other  communications  between  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  and 
the  Pacific  ocean,  and  for  publishing  the  results  as  a  national  work 
under  the  direction  of  Congress,  and  without  copy-right;  and  they 
have  with  one  accord  directed  their  chairman  to  move  the  neces- 
sary appropriation,  to  wit:  $30,000,.  being  the  amount  usually  ap- 
propriated for  topographical  surveys  beyond  the  Mississippi. 


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[226]  6 

*  T  *  "jR  f '•  •» 

APPENDIX. 

A. 

Extract  from  a  letter  from  the  Hon.  Edward  Everett. 

"CAMBRIDGE,  MASS.,  March  20,  1846. 

DEAR  SIR:  A  short  time  since,  I  sent  two  copies  of  the  Con- 
gressional documents  containing  Captain  Fremont's  two  reports  to 
London;  one  to  Dr.  Holland,  (who  spoke  of  you  with  great  kind- 
ness on  his  return  to  Boston,)  and  one  to  Sir  R.  J.  Murchison,  late 
president  both  of  the  Geological  and  Geographical  societies,  and 
one  of  the  most  eminent  British  geologists.  In  a  letter  received 
from  the  last  named  gentleman,  by  the  steamer  of  the  4th  March, 
he  speaks  in  the  following  manner  of  Captain  Fremont's  report:— 
1  The  work  of  Captain  Fremont  so  deeply  interested  me,  (it  is 
really  the  most  romantic,  as  well  as  instructive  survey,)  that  I 
wrote  out  a  little  analysis  of  it  for  the  president  of  our  geological 
society,  Mr.  Homer,*  and  if  he  has  not  space  enough  to  do  it  jus- 
tice in  his  anniversary  discourse,  I  will  take  care  that  the  excellent 
services  of  your  countryman  are  duly  noticed  in  the  speech  of  Lord 
Colchester,  my  suecessor-as  president  of  the  Royal  Geographical 
Society.7  Knowing  your  connexion  with  Captain  Fremont,  I  have 
thought  it  might  be  some  satisfaction  to  you  to  learn  that  his  labors 
were  appreciated  by  good  judges  abroad.  I  should  long  since  have 
made  him  my  personal  acknowledgements  for  the  gratification  and 
instruction  which  I  have  derived  from  his  reports,  had  I  had  the 
honor  of  his  acquaintance.  I  should  have  sent  more  copies  to  Eng- 
land could  I  have  procured  them." 


B. 

Extract  from  a  letter  from  Dr.  Letter,  of  Columbia  College,  South 

Carolina. 

"You  recollect  that  last  year  I  sent  Colonel  Fremont's  report, 
&c.,  to  Europe.  My  son,  who  is  now  studying  mining  in  Europe, 
to  prepare  himself  for  your  west,  and  to  aid,  one  of  these  days,  in 
the  development  of  the  mineral  wealth  of  our  country,  lately  wrote 
me  that  the  papers  I  sent  had  been  studied  with  the  deepest  inter- 
est by  the  mineralogists  and  geologists  in  Berlin,  to  whom  Baron 
Humboldt  had  communicated  them  after  a  careful  perusal  by  him- 
self." 


'Mr.  LyelFs  father-in-law. 


^         •  '  V    [226] 

c. 

Extract  from  a  letter  from  the  United  States  consul,  Edward  War- 
ren, Trieste. 

"  I  travelled,  not  as  I  first  intended,  over  Hamburg  and  Berlin  to 
this  city,  but  took  a  passage  to  Leghorn,  from  which  place  I  pro- 
ceeded t-o  Trieste.  I  availed  myself  of  a.  favorable  opportunity  to 
forward  the  books  which  you  entrusted  to  my  care  to  Baron  Von 
Humboldt.  During  the  month  of  July  I  obtained  a  short  leave  of 
absence  from  my  post,  and  proceeded  to  the  north  of  Germany. 
Whilst  at  Berlin  I  had  an  interview  with  Baron  Von  Humboldt, 
He  bade  me  thank  you  for  the  present  with  which  you  had  favored 
him.  He  had  already  in  his  possession  "  Fremont's  report,"  but  hot 
Nicollet's  work.  He  put  some  questions  to  me  in  relation  to  your- 
self, your  political  career,  your  age,  and  so  forth,  to  which  I  gave 
full  replies.  He  then  inquired  in  relation  to  Colonel  Fremont, 
whose  work  he  said  had  been  read  by  him  with  great  interest,  as  the  • 
work  of  "a  man  of  talent,  courage,  industry,  and  enterprise." 
These  were  the  words  literally  used  by  Mr.  Von  Humboldt. 

"Extracts  from  the\reports  which  have  made  their  appearance  in 
many  of  the  German  papers  and  the  scientific  world,  (through  the 
republication  of  the  work  by  Wiley  &  Putnam,  in  London,)  has  be- 
come generally  acquainted  with  it;  and  I  can  say  truly,  from  the 
conversation  which  I  have  had  upon  the  subject  with  many  men 
entitled  to  a  judgment,  it  is  appreciated  as  a  very  able  work." 


D. 

Extract  from  a  letter  from  Dr.  John  Torrey,  of  Princeton,  JV.  J. 

"After  incessant  working  on  the  CaHfornian  plants, from  the  time 
they  were  received  till  this  moment,  I  have  secured  all  that  were 
not  decomposed,  and  have  the  entire  collection  in  clean,  dry  paper. 
The  loss  of  one  or  two  boxes,  and  the  partial  injury  of  some  others, 
we  can  well  bear,  when  the  rest  are  so  valuable.  Of  those  that  were 
spoiled,  I  trust  there  were  duplicates  of  the  greater  part  in  the  rest 
of  the  herbarium.  No  doubt  there  are  many  new  species  among 
your  discoveries.  The  pines  are  well  represented,  and  most  of  them 
can  be  drawn  so  as  to  show  all  the  essential  parts.  As  soon  as  I 
get  Captain  Wilkes's  plants  off  my  hands  I  shall  attack  these  with 
vigor.  How  much  I  regret  not  having  a  botanical  artist  at  my 
elbo\v,  as  my  friend  Dr.  Gray  has.  Now  that  the  doctor  has  under- 
taken the  great  bulk  of  the  exploring  expedition  botany,  he  will,  I 
fear,  need  the  whole  of  Mr.  Sprague's  (his  artist's)  time. 

"The  only  way  to  have  our  work  properly  executed  is,  either  to 
import  an  artist  (and  one  could  be  got  at  a  very  moderate  salary) 
or  to  send  the  specimens,  from  .time  to  time,  to  Europe,  where  they 
might  be  drawn  and  put  at  once  upon  the  stoire," 


[826]  8 


"Please  let  me  know  what  I  am  to  do  about  drawings  of  your 
new  and  rare  plants.  They  ought  to  be  put  in  hand  soon,  as  it  will 
take  a  long  time  to  get  them  properly  done.  At  any  rate  I  will 
send  a  few  to  France  immediately,  and  have  them  drawn  under  the 
eye  of  Professors  Jussieu  and  Decaisne.  We  can  then  find  exactly 
what  they  will  cost.  Do  you  not  think  that  the  forest  trees  ought 
to  be  done  in  a  style  and  size  with  Michaux's  Sylva?  A  supplemen- 
tary volume,  or  distinct  work,  rather,  on  the  trees  of  California  and 
Oregon,  would  be  a  most  acceptable  gift,  not  only  to  botanists,  but 
to  men  of  taste  and  lovers  of  nature  generally. 

"  Was  I  right  in  supposing  that  Taxodium  sempervirens  to  be 
your  great  cedar?  The  Thuya  does  not  grow  to  the. enormous  size 
that  you  mention;  but  the  Taxodium  does.  What  a  pity  there  was 
not  time  to  get  a  figure  of  it  ready  for  your  report." 


Extract  from  the  report  of  a  committee  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives^ March  8,  1804,  of  which  Dr.  Samuel  L.  Mitchell  was  chair- 
man^ OTi  the  resolve  of  the  House,  directing  them  to  inquire  into 
*  the  expediency  of  authorising  the  President  of  the  United  States 
to  cause  certain  remote  and  unknown  points  of  Louisiana  to  be 

explored. 

'~~*ijt 

<e  By  a  series  of  remarkable  events,  the  United  States  have  lately 
acquired  a  large  addition  of  soil  and  jurisdiction.  This  is  believed, 
besides  the  tracts  on  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi,  to  include  all 
the  country  which  lies  to  the  westward,  between  that  river  and 
the  great  chain  of  mountains  that  stretch  from  north  to  south,  and 
divide  the  waters  running  into  the  Atlantic  from  those  which  emp- 
ty into  the  Pacific  ocean;  and  beyond  that  chain,  between  the  ter- 
ritories claimed  by  Great  Britain  on  one  side,  and  by  Spain  on  the 
other,  quite  to  the  South  sea.  It  is  highly  desirable  that  this  ex- 
tensive region  should  be  visited,  in  some  parts  at  least,  by  intelligent 
men.  Important  additions  might  thereby  be  made  to  the  science 
of  geography.  Various  materials  might  thence  be  derived  to  aug-. 
ment  our  knowledge  of  natural  history.  The  government  would 
thence  acquire  correct  information  of  the  situation,  extent,  and 
worth  of  its  own  dominions;  and  individuals  of  research  and  curi- 
osity would  receive  ample  gratification,  as  to  the  works  of  art,  and 
the  productions  of  nature,  which  exist  in  those  boundless  tracts. J> 


Hollinger  Corp. 
PH8.5 


